WHY SO obsessed with IB???...

Would just like to know why so many people are fixated with IB
I mean the money is obvious but I have a few friends who work in the city that are saying that its not all that its cut out to be.

Would just like someone who is aspiring towards IB to shed some light on what exactly they want to get out of it/ did you ever consider other financial careers?

Dont understand the obsession when:

When 1. money doesn't bring you happiness? (and anyone that disagrees with me is souless)

and 2. when you do start earning 100,000 a year, you sure as hell dont have the time to spend it all!

It baffles me! Just looking for different opinions. No hate

Reply 1

Doglamlico

16

Original post by asdaprice*

Would just like to know why so many people are fixated with IB
I mean the money is obvious but I have a few friends who work in the city that are saying that its not all that its cut out to be.

Would just like someone who is aspiring towards IB to shed some light on what exactly they want to get out of it/ did you ever consider other financial careers?

Dont understand the obsession when:

When 1. money doesn't bring you happiness? (and anyone that disagrees with me is souless)

and 2. when you do start earning 100,000 a year, you sure as hell dont have the time to spend it all!

It baffles me! Just looking for different opinions. No hate

Hmm.

Certainly money is a huge incentive. Being rich certainly can make you happier than otherwise imo. I'd rather cry in a limo than under a bridge :tongue:

Seriously, though, it's not shallow to want money. Everyone wants nice things - a nice house, a car etc. and money can get you it.

Your second point is valid though - is it worth throwing away 10 years of your life to earn so much money, or would you rather enjoy that time with a less stressful job?

Lastly, you have the freaks who actually enjoy IB :biggrin:

Reply 2

poohat

18

If you have something that you love doing and can make a living from it, then doing that for a career is probably going to be the most satisfying option. But realistically only a tiny number of people are in that situation, and most people will instead end up having to do a job they dislike or find dull. Given this, it is generally better to be getting a decent 6 figure salary in IB than working an equally dull job for < £100k

In America it is possible to get paid a lot of money in engineering careers (eg google/facebook pay graduates $100k+ straight out of university, its not unusual for midcareer chemical engineers to earn $150k or more, etc). But in the UK scientific/technical careers pay pretty bad (graduate starting salaries at most places are <£35k), so finance can be more appealing.

Basically everything about the UK economy acts to force top graduates into finance; in my experience (studying mathematics at a target university) most of the best students had their first choice option as either IB or doing a PhD. This is probably a bad thing socially and its one of the many reasons why we are lagging behind the US, but as a graduate you have to play with the hand youve been dealt.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 3

chelseafan

21

I think you already know the answer. Money. Pure and simple.

Reply 4

dean01234

19

Original post by asdaprice*

Would just like to know why so many people are fixated with IB
I mean the money is obvious but I have a few friends who work in the city that are saying that its not all that its cut out to be.

Would just like someone who is aspiring towards IB to shed some light on what exactly they want to get out of it/ did you ever consider other financial careers?

Dont understand the obsession when:

When 1. money doesn't bring you happiness? (and anyone that disagrees with me is souless)

and 2. when you do start earning 100,000 a year, you sure as hell dont have the time to spend it all!

It baffles me! Just looking for different opinions. No hate

99% of people are doing it for the money, perhaps 1% are doing it because they thought wall street was an awesome film

Reply 5

asdaprice*

OP

Original post by The Polymath

Hmm.

Certainly money is a huge incentive. Being rich certainly can make you happier than otherwise imo. I'd rather cry in a limo than under a bridge :tongue:

Seriously, though, it's not shallow to want money. Everyone wants nice things - a nice house, a car etc. and money can get you it.

Your second point is valid though - is it worth throwing away 10 years of your life to earn so much money, or would you rather enjoy that time with a less stressful job?

Lastly, you have the freaks who actually enjoy IB :biggrin:

Ha I didnt think about that one, sounds legit.

Of course, everyone wants nice things. Thats a no brainer!
My point was that surely theres surely a cut off point where your earning a great deal of money and earning more wont make you any happier?

Also, do you reckon you'd still be happy earning 100k but had a sick child to look after, your health was significantly poor, your country in tatters or no longer had the support from your family or friends for whatever reason? Surely that suggests that money is only a small part of what makes us happy?

I dont know, is IB a status thing?

I mean would you be happy earning 70-80k in an operations/ Sales role with more time, a weeny bit less status?

Just intrigued!

Reply 6

Doglamlico

16

Original post by asdaprice*

Ha I didnt think about that one, sounds legit.

Of course, everyone wants nice things. Thats a no brainer!
My point was that surely theres surely a cut off point where your earning a great deal of money and earning more wont make you any happier?

Also, do you reckon you'd still be happy earning 100k but had a sick child to look after, your health was significantly poor, your country in tatters or no longer had the support from your family or friends for whatever reason? Surely that suggests that money is only a small part of what makes us happy?

I dont know, is IB a status thing?

I mean would you be happy earning 70-80k in an operations/ Sales role with more time, a weeny bit less status?

Just intrigued!

Yes, there is a cut off point. I'd rather be earning £7-80K and doing a more meaningful/interesting job, than £100k for a job I hated.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

PlusMinus

For the Exit. (And yeah, the money makes it a little more bearable)

Reply 8

cl_steele

2

Lets be honest its only the money... I doubt many would outwardly seek to work in a soul crushing back stabbing environment otherwise.
I mean my dad worked for various swiss banks for years and bar CSFB he said they were some of the most unpleasant people he has ever had the misfortune to meet, especially the Americans at UBS... Apparently it was quite a nice place to work before SBC merged with it and the management became American it all went down hill from there...
But on a lighter note apparently some of the perks for working with certain banks are rather nice, if youre higher up the pecking order anyway :rolleyes:

Reply 9

Frenchous

10

1) it pays well
2) it opens many door if you want to change career
3) it teaches you a discipline and an attitude which will help you strive in other jobs
4) it can be very interesting at times (which job allows you to talk to ceo's and cfo's of FTSE100 companies before you enter your 30's?)
5) most other jobs are both very boring + pay a misery

Reply 10

KLL

11

Original post by asdaprice*

Would just like to know why so many people are fixated with IB
I mean the money is obvious but I have a few friends who work in the city that are saying that its not all that its cut out to be.

Would just like someone who is aspiring towards IB to shed some light on what exactly they want to get out of it/ did you ever consider other financial careers?

Dont understand the obsession when:

When 1. money doesn't bring you happiness? (and anyone that disagrees with me is souless)

and 2. when you do start earning 100,000 a year, you sure as hell dont have the time to spend it all!

It baffles me! Just looking for different opinions. No hate

I guess the guys you talked to went into IB for the money and were in IBD?

There are plenty of people who are in it for other reasons, talk to them.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 11

Seeker122

Why most people are obsessed with IB?

1) Good pay (but not enough to buy a jet or yacht)
2) Prestige (they all want to say they work for Goldman or X,Y,Z bank)
3) You want to have no social life.

Reply 12

crustz

7

Original post by asdaprice*

Would just like to know why so many people are fixated with IB
I mean the money is obvious but I have a few friends who work in the city that are saying that its not all that its cut out to be.

Would just like someone who is aspiring towards IB to shed some light on what exactly they want to get out of it/ did you ever consider other financial careers?

Dont understand the obsession when:

When 1. money doesn't bring you happiness? (and anyone that disagrees with me is souless)

and 2. when you do start earning 100,000 a year, you sure as hell dont have the time to spend it all!

It baffles me! Just looking for different opinions. No hate

It really depends where you work.

Reply 13

7M33R

9

I personally don't see what's so good about it. You may get paid twice as much but you'll sure as hell work twice as much. I want to be able to have a career where I can be comfortably well off but also have time to spend my money. I want a social life, and IB doesn't give you that. Hell I even think working in consultancy looks a few to many hours for me. Bankers will often spend 50K in one Friday night at a Mayfair club just because they know its the only time they will get to spend that money.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 14

Troll the Trolls

Original post by 7M33R

I personally don't see what's so good about it. You may get paid twice as much but you'll sure as hell work twice as much. I want to be able to have a career where I can be comfortably well off but also have time to spend my money. I want a social life, and IB doesn't give you that. Hell I even think working in consultancy looks a few to many hours for me. Bankers will often spend 50K in one Friday night at a Mayfair club just because they know its the only time they will get to spend that money.

i really don't see that, what are they buying exactly?

Reply 15

7M33R

9

Original post by Troll the Trolls

i really don't see that, what are they buying exactly?

Bottles of Champagne. It seems weird to you or me, but at these Mayfair clubs its more than possible. 50K might be an exaggeration but just have a look

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=banker+bar+tab&sugexp=chrome,mod=0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Reply 16

effofex

18

Why is IB viewed as a profession where you as an individual 'take alot of risk'?

It's hardly comparable to professional athletics or trading at an arcade...

Reply 17

Rahul.S

14

personally, because the money is damn good! 2.75k in a month for a summer internship aint bad :biggrin:

Reply 18

Tomatochuckers

18

Original post by effofex

Why is IB viewed as a profession where you as an individual 'take alot of risk'?

It's hardly comparable to professional athletics or trading at an arcade...

I assumed it was because it had less stability compared to other professions like actuary and accountancy.

Is it true that the bottom x percent frequently get axed in IB? Can someone shed light on this? I remember those Ibanker blogs from the guardian stating this as well...